Climate Change

Signs of a rapidly changing climate are evident in the Southwest region. We see many flowers blooming earlier, lakes freezing later, and birds altering migration patterns.

We also experience
unprecedented weather, such as out-of-season heat waves, tornadoes and tropical
storms. These effects of climate change can transform our environments by
changing closely linked associations, such as the timing of hatching insects
with the arrival of migratory birds. It also changes the vegetation in an area
affecting the species that have evolved to depend on a specific plant
community. These changes can threaten many of the species we manage.

This is why the National Wildlife Refuge System is focused on trying to predict
changes to ecosystems so that action can be taken to help wildlife adjust.

You can also help! Small changes in our everyday lives can make a big
difference. Here are a few ways you can help our climate and support wildlife
conservation where you live.

Plant native
trees and shrubs that absorb carbon dioxide and slow the spread of
invasive species

What We Do

Sewing-machine Feeding

One way to distinguish the long-billed dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus) from other shorebirds is by how they feed – like a sewing machine! The shorebird quickly probes into the refuge’s mud flats with its long bill, sometimes to the point of sticking their head in the mud. Like many other migratory birds, they are dependent on the habitat at Las Vegas National Wildlife Refuge during their long migration that extends as far north as Alaska and as far south as the Yucatan Peninsula.